One World
by The Mauve Lantern
Summary: Ten years ago, on the day his ship was destroyed, Gray Bernard made a promise with his son that they would meet again at Far Horizon. Join Gray Falcio and the Blue Wind Pirates on a world-wide journey as they sail for the land at the end of the world!


**ONE WORLD**

By The Mauve Lantern

Chapter 1: Far Horizon

"_Just one day ago, the dreaded Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy was put to death in Loguetown, where a crowd of thousands watched with bated breath as the Marines drew their blades in preparation for the execution. Up on the high stand, watching the masses swarm below, the pirate was strangely silent; a serene calm washed over the king like a wave of water. He seemed to be at ease with the prospect of his imminent death._

_Then, just before the execution, Monkey D. Luffy looked up and declared, "Long live the Will of D! Follow your dreams, all the way to the End of the World!"_

_Chaos and noise erupted where silence held mere moments ago. The crowd burst out cheering at the pirate king's words, for this meant that the days of exploration on the high seas were only beginning! There can be no other name for this new age than the Silver Age of pirating. _

_And now a word from Wotan Picard, reporting in Lo-"_

The brown Den-Den Mushi playing the news report was smashed to pieces before the reporter could finish his words. Parka Kamen, ship carpenter of the Fruit Tree Pirates, rubbed his sore hand while his crewmates berated him. Tall and imposing, with most of his face hidden by his dark hood save for a gaudy mask that broke through, not many people were willing to get into an argument with him, save for his shipmates.

"Oy, what'd you do that fer, ya stupid brat?!" gawked Kuraga, ship doctor. He was an old man with a sizeable belly, thinning blonde hair on his head, and enormous glasses perched upon his nose. The old doctor slammed his own fist on the table, frustrated with his stoic crewmate.

"We wanted to hear what was going on in Loguetown," grumbled Eule, one of the cabin boys aboard the pirates' ship. The young boy was no older than ten, but he looked one or two years older than that. He had brown hair that came down to just an inch above his ear lobes and then curled up at the sides, framing his mature face. What he lacked in height, he more than made up for with his piercing yellow eyes and sizable hands.

Parka turned a baleful glare towards his complaining colleagues and said, "I want none of that filth being heard while I'm around. To even think that the worthless Marines could have beaten and captured the pirate king is preposterous!"

"That doesn't give you the right to break our stuff!" Eule jeered as he leapt from his stool and kicked Parka in the shins. The older carpenter roared in pain and began to chase the cabin boy around the room.

Across the way from them, Gray Bernard and his son Falcio were cleaning and recalibrating the crew's rifles and pistols, though Falcio was more interested in the news that was playing on the Den-Den Mushi until just seconds ago. It was rather a sight to see, given that the two were practically duplicates of each other: both had short, black hair; both had green eyes and wore glasses; both had skin pale as snow. They both wore denim over-alls and black shirts that had the word 'HAMMER' printed on the front. The only difference between the two was the pair of metal goggles that hung from Bernard's neck. Made special, the goggle lenses were formed from a special crystal and the bands that held them in place were crafted from a special steel, a leather strap tying the whole thing together.

His son's green eyes sparkled with inquiry after hearing the news, which meant Bernard was going to be answering a storm of questions real soon. The ship's inventor sighed and told his son, "Get on with it, Falcio."

"Did they really kill the pirate king, Dad?" asked Falcio, adjusting his glasses as they slipped from his nose. "I thought he was supposed to be the strongest man in the world!"

"He is, my boy," replied Bernard, "which leads me to believe that the one they killed was not, in fact, Monkey D. Luffy at all!"

"Really?! But then why did they say that he was eggs-acuted?"

"Because the Marines want to look like they're still useful in this day and age," grumbled Bernard as he opened up a rifle and began to clean it.

Falcio was confused by his father's comment. "I thought the Marines were our enemy, Dad," he stated while polishing a pistol.

"And they are, son. Never trust a Marine," Bernard grimaced. "But the Marines have been getting weaker ever since the day their base at Marineford was destroyed. They probably hired an actor to play Monkey D. and then killed him so they could still look like they were in power."

"Really?!"

"You ask too many questions, kiddo," said Bernard as he pat his son on the head, ruffling his hair in the process. "Don't let things like this bother you. Out here, we're far away from the Marines, so far they can't ever get to us!"

It was a good thing the Marines couldn't find the Fruit Tree Pirates in the West Blue, for they were arguably some of the most dangerous pirates on the seas. They were merchants in a sense, selling a product to certain people for the highest price. What they were selling were Devil Fruits they procured from places all over the world; whereas most people were lucky to find one in their lives, the Fruit Trees had acquired over four dozen on explorations. Most members of the crew had eaten the cursed fruit, making them the best people to guard the precious cargo.

Suddenly, the ship's cook, Gummy, burst into the room in a hysterical state. The obese dwarf was terrified and cried in a high pitched voice, "The Marines have found us! We need to get out of here!"

"How could they have found us?!" Parka roared as he stormed out of the room, the others following swiftly.

All the pirates ran out to the deck, many activating their powers in anticipation. Out in the sea around them sat three enormous Marine battleships, their own crews out on the deck, cannons facing the Fruit Trees' boat.

"Aaaaahhh! The Marines!" the crew shrieked one after the other. "What do we do, Captain?!"

Their captain, Kiwi Jimmy, stood out before them, his verdant coat fluttering in the warm sea breeze. He was a small man, certainly not the biggest amongst the crew, but he still carried himself like a giant. Dressed in a brown business suit, a green button-up shirt, brown tie and brown shoes, he looked the part of business man perfectly. With a wave of his hands, he chirped, "Gyu-hu-hu-hu! My friends, this might just be the end of our little business adventure."

Despite his words, the captain had a ferocious look in his eyes. He would not die without a fight, nor would any of his friends on board the Apple Core, Jimmy's ship. Swiftly, he rubbed the fuzz on his head until sparks of electricity flared up around his fingertips, crackling with intensity. Jimmy turned to face his crew and smiled, remarking, "My only regret is not getting more money than I did. To all of you, I apologize for this mess I got you in. I know that I cannot hold off the Marines by myself; though I hesitate in asking this, would any of you stand by me now?"

"Hell yeah!" the crew shouted as the Marine ships approached. Everyone on board the Apple Core readied themselves for action, save for Gray Bernard and Parka Kamen, who snatched Falcio and Eule away.

Eule struggled, shouting, "Oy, what the hell do you think you're doing?! We should be out there, fighting to keep the ship safe!"

"I'm not about to let our children die in a meaningless fight," said Parka as he followed Bernard down into the bowels of the Apple Core. "You two still have a long life to live, hopefully one away from the Marines."

They raced down and down until they got to the bottom of the ship, where there were a number of lifeboats waiting. Each boat could easily hold four passengers and could definitely fit Eule and Falcio. Pulling a lever on the wall, a door opened up in the side of the boat, just large enough for the lifeboat to pass through and drop to the water below it.

Bernard knelt down, clasped the boys' shoulders, and told them, "Listen to me, the both of you: you need to get out of here immediately, before the Marines start to attack the ship. There's not a single soul on this boat worth saving except for you two, so you have to do the living for us. I want the both of you to get on one of the boats here and get to the nearest island, and no buts! You don't need any old men telling you two what to do any more, boys, and no more working against the law. From now on, I want you to lead a happy life, away from all of this." The inventor became silent and dropped his head, choking back his fear.

Falcio remained quiet, but Eule mumbled, "Old man…" and trailed off without finishing his thought. He glanced from Parka to Bernard, but neither would look the boy in the eyes.

"This has to be a joke, right? Y-You can't just leave a couple of kids to die out there, can you?" pleaded Eule. He sniffled, stifling a cry, and tried to display anger and frustration at the men; the boy failed at both. Neither man said a word, but Parka gave Eule a rare smile.

"If there is one thing you boys are, it's tough. Eule, look after Falcio; Falcio, look after Eule. Together, you boys will be able to do anything," said Parka as he wiped away the tears that formed at the edge of his mask.

An explosion above them rocked the boat and shook one lifeboat out of the ship. Parka raced away back to the deck and the action, with Bernard following. "Get out of here, the both of you!" shouted Bernard. He turned, but was stopped when he was stopped when his son grabbed his arm; the inventor spun around and found his son to be on the verge of bawling. Tears were streaming from his brilliant eyes, and he seemed to be doing all he could to keep from curling up on the floor and screaming.

"Wh…Why do you have to go, Daddy? I d-d-d-don't want to go!" sobbed Falcio. "I want to b-b-be with you!"

Bernard smiled in sadness and crouched down to see eye to eye with his son. "I know you don't want to go, Falcio, but this isn't the end. Someday, we'll see each other again, I promise. We'll see each other at the Far Horizon, okay?"

"Th-th-the Far Horizon?"

"Yep, the Far Horizon," answered Bernard, "where all the great pirates are. You keep going to the horizon, and we'll meet there one day. On that, you can trust me."

"I…I d-d-don't believe you!" cried Falcio. "How do I know you won't just disappear like Mom?!"

He was silenced when his father took his goggles from his neck and placed them around his own. The father looked at his son and told him, "I'll be waiting for those goggles now. And I won't disappear until I get them back, that's a promise." Falcio could do nothing but latch onto his father and cry his eyes out. Bernard wrapped his arms around his boy one last time and held him until another explosion shook the ship again.

Hesitantly, Bernard let go of his son and wiped the last of the tears from his eyes. "Remember, I'll be waiting at the Far Horizon, okay?" the father asked his weeping son, who nodded in response. Though Falcio wanted to say something, he couldn't find the words. Bernard looked over at Eule, who was dislodging a lifeboat and getting ready to evacuate. The inventor pulled a map from his pocket and tossed it over to the cabin boy.

"The nearest island is about eighty miles due south from here, Eule. If you boys keep rowing and don't stop, you should be able to reach shore in no time at all," said Bernard, who stood up and tossed a compass over to Eule.

"Aye, sir!" shouted Eule as he caught the compass and map, stuffing them into his shorts.

"Good. I leave my son in your hands, Eule." With that, Bernard ran off to join the chaos atop the deck, leaving Falcio holding back tears and Eule with compass in hand.

When he was sure that the inventor was gone, Eule said to Falcio, "Come on, Falcio, there's one thing we've got to get before we can leave!"

"Wh-What?" snuffled Falcio.

"A Devil Fruit for the both of us," grinned Eule.

Both boys left the lifeboats behind as they sprinted up to the storage room, where both of them knew the cargo was held. With a swift kick, Eule broke the door down and ran inside, where there were several baskets holding a few Devil Fruits apiece.

"Are you s-s-sure we should take the fruit, Eule?" asked Falcio as he followed his friend.

"Of course, Captain Kiwi would want us to take a pair!" replied an excited Eule. "We need a chance to survive in the world, and the only way we can do that is if we have a Devil Fruit." After glancing around the baskets, the cabin boy settled on a pair of fruits that resembled a pineapple and a cherry, though the fruits were quite large and had intricate spirals and patterns on all over the skin.

Fruit in hand, Eule and Falcio raced down below to the lifeboats again. Falcio tossed the fruits, the map and the compass into the boat and helped Eule push it out of the Apple Core and onto the water outside. The boat landed with a splash, followed by the two boys, who landed beside it and climbed in. Tools in hand, the two boys set out for land.

"Okay, I'll row while you read the map and keep look-out, Falcio," commanded Eule as he grabbed the oars of the boat and set to propel themselves through the water. He rowed as fast as he could and soon they left the chaotic battle behind. Neither boy wanted to hear the screams and deaths of their fellow crewmates.

From a distance, they could only watch as the Apple Core, their boat, their home for nearly all their lives, was destroyed. The Marine ships all encircled the ship and opened fire, tearing the Apple Core apart until it was nothing more than driftwood. Falcio fell to his knees and cried at all the deaths, while Eule continued to row the boat, his head cast down in sorrow and anguish.

***

"Uuuuhhhh…wh-what happened?" groaned Falcio as he groggily opened his eyes. The harsh sunlight and sound of gentle waves knocking on wood greeted him as he woke up from an unpleasant sleep. As he became conscious of where he was, Falcio realized that he was out in the middle of the ocean, in the overturned lifeboat, all by himself. There were no oars, no Devil Fruit, and, most importantly of all, no Eule. Expecting to find his friend laying beside him, the boy saw he was not there.

"Eule?! Eule! Euuuuuuuuuuuuuuule!" Falcio shouted as far as his voice could carry. Unfortunately, there was nothing but water around him; Eule was nowhere to be found.

The events of the past day returned to his head as he searched for Eule. They had been rowing away from the ship for a day when a sudden storm burst open and turned the sea into a raging nightmare. Their tiny ship was tossed about like a tiny toy for what seemed an eternity until one giant wave flipped the boat over, throwing Eule out to the mercy of the waves. Falcio struggled to get back to the boat and clung on for dear life until the storm passed moments later. He climbed on top of the flipped boat and passed out, all his energy spent.

"No…Eule…"

Falcio sobbed once more, the loss of his only living friend shaking him to his core. Now he was all alone and had no idea where he was on the ocean. All he had left was a map that was likely ruined and useless now, a water-logged compass, his father's goggles, and a pit in his stomach. The small boy's stomach growled and he cringed in hunger; he needed something to eat and soon.

It was then that he felt the lump in his pocket. He reached into his pocket and fished out the cherry-shaped Devil Fruit, still in one piece after everything that had happened just hours ago. From all the stories of the horrid taste, he was reluctant to eat the fruit, but his growling stomach reprimanded him.

"But this is the only food I've got," the small boy choked out as he took a bite of the fruit. He nearly spat out the bite, but he swallowed it painfully and continued to eat until there was nothing left but stems and seeds. Falcio nearly vomited once he was done, but he managed to keep the vile fruit down after swishing around some salt water in his mouth.

"Ack," he spat, "that was the worst thing I've ever tasted! It was like gunpowder mixed with salt and lemon!"

As he complained, a chill began to spread through his body. "H-How's it g-g-g-getting c-c-c-c-c-colder?" Falcio shivered, clutching his sun-dried body. Even though he felt baked a moment ago, he suddenly felt like he was standing in the snow. And the cold did not just stay in the boy's body; it began to filter out of him, affecting the air around him. The water on the side of the lifeboat began to freeze over, turning into ice instantly.

When he saw this, Falcio placed his father's goggles on his face and stared at the ice, curious at how it was made. "Did I just make that?" asked the boy to himself. Deciding to test his query, he pointed his hands at the water around the boat; it quickly turned to ice before melting once Falcio lost concentration.

"Whoa," he exclaimed, "am I a Cold-Cold kid?" Since each Devil Fruit was unique and special, Falcio came up with his own name for the fruit that gave him the chilly powers.

"Okay," he said, "let's see if I can keep this up!"

Stretching his hands out, Falcio aimed at the ocean and released the pent-up cold air in his body, turning the water before him into a patch of ice again. This time, he lowered his hands and concentrated with only his mind; the ice remained. Gingerly stepping on it, the curious boy found the ice to be solid as a rock.

He cheerfully exclaimed, "Incredible! I can get to shore now!"

Falcio took cautious steps at first until he learned that the cold air could instantly freeze the water and make it solid enough to walk on. He worked his way from baby steps to walking to running across the ocean, heading off in whatever direction he wanted. There was nothing to keep him from going exploring now. The whole, wide world was open to discover.

***

Ten years passed and Falcio grew into a man eighteen years of age. Just as when he was a child, he was the spitting image of his father, only his hair was long and spiky, falling to a few inches above his eyes. He wore a cotton cap that covered the top of his head, glasses that were comically small, a black jacket over a blue shirt, black pants and black boots. His father's goggles were always hanging from his neck everywhere he went; they never left his person. The young man had no place to call home and wandered from island to island for years. Currently, he was renting a room at an inn in a small town called Lecheville.

The young man sat in a milk bar sipping from a chilled bottle of chocolate milk when a troop of rowdy brigands burst into the bar. Every bar patron stopped what they were doing and watched with bated breath as the criminals came in. One tall, snake-like man slithered into the bar, two swords at his hip. His tongue flicked in and out of his mouth as he scoured the bar.

"Where'sss Issssssicle Gray?" the man asked, venom dripping from every word he uttered. When he spotted Falcio at the end of the bar, he snickered.

"Sssah-ha-ha, I found you at last, Icicle! Now you'll pay for freezzzzzzzing King Kobra'sssss men up at Dango Mountain!" the snake man snarled as he drew his swords.

Falcio paid the brigand no mind and simply continued drinking his chocolate milk. When he downed the rest of the sweet liquid, he smiled at the bartender and said, "Thanks for the treat, Mr. Gato."

The bartender, a cowardly little man, replied, "D-d-d-d-don't muh-mention it, Falcio. Wuh-Would you like another bottle?"

"Hmm, I better not," answered Falcio as he stood from his stool.

"Hey, you basssssstard! Don't ssssssscrew with usssssss!" shouted King Kobra as he charged at Falcio. The cool-cool man was ready for him, and he froze the floor beneath the brigand, causing him to slip and fall flat on his face.

"B-Boss!" Kobra's men cried out. "Are you okay?"

"G-Get him!" Kobra grunted, picking himself off the floor. All the brigands rushed the bar, their swords aiming at Falcio.

Falcio flicked his fingers and said, "Cool-Cool Darts." Instantly, several icicles formed in the air and flew towards the criminals, hitting them with all the force of a bullet. All the brigands fell to the ground, leaving just King Kobra to deal with.

The boss propped himself up with his swords and sliced at Falcio, shouting, "You're finished, Isssssicle! SLASHING FANG!" He thought he had a clear shot, until a small shield of ice formed around his target's face. "Wh-what?!"

"Bye-bye," smirked Falcio. "COOL-COOL REVOLVER!" A barrier of ice formed around his free fist, and he slammed the frosty fist into Kobra's stomach, sending him flying through the wall of the bar.

With every brigand lying defeated, Falcio pulled a small satchel filled with Berries out of his coat pocket and placed it on the bar. He said to Gato, "Thanks for the milk, Mr. Gato! Sorry about the wall!"

"N-n-no p-p-p-problem, F-F-Falcio!" the old man stammered, collecting the money.

Falcio exited the bar and walked the length of the road straight to the docks. The ships weren't here yet, and they were supposed to arrive an hour ago. Growing impatient, the young explorer said, "To hell with waiting," and jumped off the docks, landing on a road of ice he conjured up.

A new road lay open before him as he set out for the Far Horizon once again. Where it led, he didn't know or care.


End file.
